Now the question was, could she do anything to help him?
Thank God it was Friday.
Evan shrugged into a clean shirt after his shower.The sandwich he’d had at lunch hadn’t filled him up as much as he would have liked.He was ravenous now, and whatever Mercedes had cooking in the kitchen smelled delicious.
“You are a goddess,” he said when he entered the kitchen.“I will be your servant forever.”
Mercedes’ eyes crinkled in laughter, and she pointed to the table.“Sit.It’s almost ready.”
“I can set the table and get drinks.Do you want tea or something else?”
“There’s a pitcher of iced tea in the fridge.Thanks.”
Evan got down two glasses and filled them with ice.He poured tea into one and Mountain Dew into the other, then set them on the table.Utensils and plates followed.When that was done, he sidled up behind Mercedes to see what she had made.There were several pots and pans on the stove, and the oven was on.
With a smile, she glanced over her shoulder.“Meatloaf.”She hadn’t signed it because her hands were full of a hot pan.
“Oh, you are so beautiful.Please tell me there’s gravy.”
She placed the meatloaf pan on a trivet, then faced him.“Can you even have meatloaf without mashed potatoes and gravy?”
He shook his head.“Glad to see you’re following the rules of the kitchen.Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and gravy.They come as a set.”
She waved toward the table.“Get started before it gets cold.”
Evan cut a large slice of meatloaf and hefted it onto his plate.A huge scoop of potatoes followed, then they were slathered in gravy.Mercedes lowered another bowl onto the table, and he peered in.“Green beans?Why?”
“Because my mother would disown me if I didn’t have some sort of green vegetable with dinner.”
“Fine, but only because I like green beans.”He dropped some onto his plate and splashed some gravy on those as well.Mercedes shook her head and bit her lip to keep from laughing.
They ate without talking for a while, mostly because this was one of Evan’s favorite meals and he needed to appreciate it fully.When he was almost finished, he said, “You really are the best roommate ever.Adam’s idea of making dinner was stopping for a burger, and the fries were considered the vegetable.”
“I’m not Adam.”
He checked her luscious curves and beautiful features.“You are not, and I am so appreciative.”
He made her go sit on the couch in the living room while he cleaned up the entire mess, then put everything in either the dishwasher or the fridge.After wiping down the table and counters, he joined her.Her eyes twinkled with excitement.
“What’s up?”
A file folder rested on the side table, and she set it in her lap.“I did some research at work today.It was a slow day, and I wanted to see what I could find about your reading level being low.”
His dinner suddenly didn’t sit well inside him.
She held up her hand.“Wait, it’s not what you think.I found something called Concentration Fatigue.It’s something that often happens to Deaf people, especially when they have to interact with mostly hearing people.”
“Is that another way of saying I’m lazy and stupid?”He started to get up, but she held onto his arm.
“No.I’m telling you it isn’t your fault.”
“Why am I the only one in my family with it?The others all went to college.I wouldn’t have passed high school if they hadn’t felt sorry for the stupid deaf kid and passed me on.”
She kept her hand on his forearm for a few moments.“Think about it.Brian is hearing, so he didn’t need to hyperfocus to understand what was being said in the classroom.Or anywhere in school.Carli and Deanna went to a Deaf school where ASL was used by everyone.They learned both ASL and English, but even when they were learning standard English, it was taught by teachers using ASL.You were in a school where you were basically the only Deaf student.Yes, you had an interpreter, but you said she did a lot of the work for you.”
“Because I was stupid,” he roared.At her hurt expression, he said, “I am stupid, and I can’t read.”
“You aren’t stupid, Evan.I’ve never thought that.Look at these articles.”She opened the folder and handed him a stack of papers.Was she kidding?He glared at her.
